A/N: I'm alive! Well, here it is, after sitting on my laptop for months of nothing. I wanted to get some more of this done before posting the first chapter, but I figured since it's summer break I'll be able to kick my butt into gear and get this done. I'm planning for this little story to have four chapters, but as it turns out, they're gonna be kinda short, like this one.

As for my other stories, I have no clue what to do to continue them, so any suggestions would be appreciated as I think about those! ^u^

I have a few paragraphs done for part 2, so I'll try and get that out ASAP as well. As always, any feedback, good or bad is much appreciated! Enjoy!

The summer weather was fading quickly as fall was starting to pick up, the days getting shorter and beginning to get colder each day. The wind was blowing as Logan stood at the edge of the sidewalk tugging his jacket closer to his body while waiting for his brother to come pick him up. Logan pulled his cell phone out to look at the time. 7:30. He'd texted Hesh a half hour ago! Not only was it getting colder, but it was starting to get dark. Logan would have felt a little better about the situation if he had someone else at least within the general area, but no one was to be seen, other than the cars racing past him. If only Dad had taught him better time keeping along with all those military drills he puts us through, Logan bitterly thought to himself, shivering again when the wind picked up again.

Logan didn't mind the drills and exercises his dad would put them through, he came to like them. It kept him in shape, helping him make his high school's varsity soccer team as a freshman. Logan understood the purpose of them all, his father's commanding voice imprinted into his mind You never give up. You always can do it. Can't isn't a word in your vocabulary out there and it sure isn't now. Elias was always tough on the two of them, but he made sure his boys knew it was only for the best.

He tried to act like a normal dad as much as possible, balancing the act of both parents for so many years until he had to go back to the military, leaving the brothers to each other. They were still young, but Elias made sure they were grown up enough before he left. He felt terrible having to just about walk out of his sons' lives, only being able to see them every few months, so a week before he was set to deploy, he brought them home a new family member; a German Sheppard puppy, no more than 2 or 3 months old. Riley, they named him. Riley took a liking especially to Hesh, but Riley will still wander into Logan's room in the middle of the night at times.

After what seemed like an eternity later, Logan was pulled from his thoughts when he heard his brother honking at him. He walked quickly to the car, wanting to get out of the cold and took a seat in the back since Hesh's girlfriend, Marissa was in the passenger seat.

"Hi Logan," Marissa smiled. Marissa was his brother's girlfriend of almost a year now. They were near perfect for each other. Both of them were a little crazy but seemed to keep each other grounded. Marissa was a very good student and some of her responsible attitude had rubbed off onto Hesh, which made both his father and brother happy. Marissa was tall, almost matching Hesh in height, with long dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Logan smiled and nodded in response as he pulled the seat belt over himself as they sped away from the curb.

"You wanna come over for dinner, tonight?" Hesh spoke up, turning the music down as he did so.

"As much as I would love to, I can't. I have work in the morning. I think you'll live if you spend one Friday night at home with your brother," She said, nodding her head in Logan's direction as she did so. Marissa and Hesh were nearly inseparable. He didn't like just him and Logan home alone, since their sitters and neighbors stopped coming by to check on them long ago. Hesh was a senior now and seen fit enough to take care of him and Logan.

"But Marisssaaaaaa," he whined, earning a small laugh from his girlfriend.

"You'll be fine. Now come on, I need to get home."

They turned onto Marissa's street and into her driveway. Hesh parked the car, leaving Logan in there while Hesh walked her up to the door. He loosely held her hand as the walked over, Marissa quickly pecking him on the lips before going inside. Logan climbed over into the front seat just as Hesh got back into the car.

"Sorry for taking so long to pick you up," Hesh spoke up. "Marissa was helping me with a Spanish assignment."

Logan smirked before replying, "Helping you with just Spanish?" Noticing part of his brother's hair slightly disheveled.

The older Walker scoffed and shoved his brother's shoulder lightly. "Oh, that's how we're gonna play this? Funny, but no. Not entirely. I actually needed help with the homework. Tell Dad anything when he comes home and I'll kill you though," he said, ruffling Logan's hair.

"Speaking of Dad, when's he supposed to come back? It's been what, four months?"

Hesh sighed. "Yeah, I haven't heard anything since his letter saying he was assigned a new op and was getting shipped off soon. No news is good news in this situation, I guess." The rest of the car ride was quiet after that, the somber mood felt by both of them. They pulled up into their driveway and made their way inside. The two weren't immediately greeted by Riley, which was strange.

"Riley! Where are you boy?" Hesh called out as he threw his keys onto the table by the door. Logan set his backpack down and made his way over to the kitchen. He was starving. Hesh continued looking around the house for their missing dog, starting with the upstairs while Logan searched through the refrigerator for something suitable to eat. He whined audibly when he didn't find anything, closing the door and rummaged through the cabinets.

"Hesh! Why don't we have any food?" Logan called out, not caring whether his brother could hear him or not. He closed the cabinets and trotted over to the pantry that was in the dining room. He probably wouldn't have noticed the man sitting at their table if he didn't speak up.

"I'm disappointed in you, son. Your old man's back on leave and you don't even say hi. Thought I taught you better than that." Logan froze. He wanted to turn around as face his dad. But in that instant, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't will his body to move. Riley came over to Logan's side an nudged at his hand, and Logan could find himself able to move.

"Dad?! You're back!" Logan came over and hugged his dad. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

Before Elias could respond, Hesh called from upstairs, "Hey Logan? Is Riley down there? I can't find him anywhere!"

Logan smiled down at Riley. "Yeah I found him! You might wanna come down here though!" Hesh quickly came down the stairs and into the dining room where Logan and his dad were.

"What? Is he okay? Did someth-Dad?" Hesh asked, standing there dumbfounded.

Elias chuckled and nodded. "Last I checked." He got up and hugged his boys. "We finished our mission ahead of schedule so they gave us some extra leave. Thought I'd come surprise you two. Enough about me though, how are you boys?" The three sat down at the table and started talking, noticing the food laid out on the table. Now Logan understood why they had no food in the cabinets. They all talked and ate, Hesh catching his father up on everything with Marissa and how his senior year has been so far. Logan sat quietly, trying not to inhale his dinner, wanting to enjoy the rare experience of a family dinner at the Walker household. He laughed at some of the stories his brother told his dad, remembering some of the ridiculous stuff they did over the past few months. None of the stuff they did while their dad was gone was bad, besides the occasional bottle rocket narrowly missing the neighbors' windows and landing in the pool, but a good amount he might not have approved of. Hesh and Logan had a brotherly pact, agreeing not to tell if the other didn't.

"I'm yet to get news of the police or an ambulance having to come to the house, so I guess that's a good sign," Elias smiled. His boys laughed and nodded in agreement. They all had stuffed themselves, just lounging around the table and talking at this point.

"So dad…" Hesh straightened up, "We have homecoming coming up soon and since it's senior year, I wanted to Marissa to homecoming in a really big way. I was wondering if I could make dinner here one night for Marissa as part of my plan?"

Elias also sat up a little at the request. "As long as you don't burn the house down and there's leftovers, do what you want." Hesh nodded and smiled a little in reply. "How are you two, by the way? I'm glad to hear you're both still together."

"We're good! She's been helping me with my Spanish projects lately, the language is absolutely foreign to me."

"That's why they call it a foreign language class, son."

He ignored the comment and continued, "Anyways, it'll be our one year anniversary soon, so I want to do something really big for her."

"What about you, Logan? Are you gonna ask anyone?" Hesh spoke up again. By this point Logan had zoned out, staring out the window behind Elias. He was then promptly brought back to reality when Hesh threw a wadded up napkin at Logan's face. Elias just shook his head and his elder son.

"Wh-sorry, what?" Logan managed to stutter out after a few seconds.

"Are you going to ask anyone to homecoming?" Elias repeated the question this time.

Logan shifted in his seat, caught off guard and a little uncomfortable by being put on the spot. He nervously scratched the back of his neck with his hand. "I, I'm not sure. I don't really know who to ask."

Hesh was trying to suppress the smirk on his face from his brother's awkward reaction. "I'm sure you have some idea of who you want to ask?"

Logan shifted a little again, straightening up this time. "Well, I was thinking of asking Addie maybe, but I'm scared she'd say no."

"Adeline Snider? You two are great friends, I doubt she'd say no. She's a very nice girl," Elias said. Addie and Logan had been friends since they were in 7th grade. The two had a bit of a rivalry going on in P.E. when they were playing soccer, the two always ending up on opposite teams, trying to beat the other. From then on, they always had a class or two together and became good friends before even realizing she lived two streets over from the Walkers. Her parents were really nice and tried to help the boys if they needed anything while Elias was gone.

"Yeah, that Addie." Logan ducked his head a little, trying to hide the pink tint on his cheeks. Okay, he might have a little bit of a crush on Addie, but there's no way he's telling his brother and dad that.

Elias probably noticed anyways, smiling smugly at his younger son before getting up to clear his spot at the table. "Go for it Logan, it can't hurt to just ask," He said, placing a hand on Logan's shoulder before going into the kitchen. Hesh still sat at the table, idly petting Riley who was sitting at his side, smiling over at his brother.

"What?"

"Logan likes Addie! Logan likes Addie!" Hesh sung out. Logan simply shook his head and got up to clean the table off.